I went to Austin with very little knowledge of F1, but an open mind and plenty of curiosity to see what all the hype was about. Turns out, I had a great weekend! Naturally, I was on a style hunt. As a fashion person, beyond the adrenaline of the race and the excitement of seeing the fans in action, I wanted to know what people were wearing to find some sort of connection that would make my gay ass feel more comfortable. And the fashion girlies did not disappoint. From head-to-toe floral sets to some serious looks, to some CRAZY looks there was plenty to see.
I crossed paths with designer Sami Miró, Chriselle Lim, Alioune Badara Fall, the one and only JoJo herself, and, perhaps most excitingly, even got some fashion advice from F1 driver Valtteri Bottas.
The whole experience goes way beyond the race itself. Activities and parties were all part of the Austin itinerary. By the way, I have to mention how many times friends and random people have told me Austin is such a cool, exciting city. Well, they were right.
I'm not much of a tejano or cowboy boots kind of guy, but going on this little style-hunting mission gave me a completely different perspective on what to expect from F1 fans and the event itself.
I got to try some delicious Austin food, hit a couple of cool parties, and even meet F1 driver Valtteri Bottas at the Jim Beam-Cadillac lounge, where we were treated to a delicious dinner and cocktails (including my new Jim Beam favorite Golden Mullet) for the occasion. I also managed to get some rather unexpected fashion advice from the man himself: “I've been seen many times in public wearing nothing but '90s-style Australian budgie smugglers — those tiny Speedos. It might be controversial for some, but I'm proud of those moments.” The advice? Do what makes you happy!
As the conversation went on, I kept asking about his style out of pure curiosity. After all, it’s not often that you see athletes express themselves so freely through fashion and personality, and that’s something Bottas seems to embrace effortlessly. I’m saying this because I even had the audacity to ask him (I mean the man was sitting right there I had to) about his style and the mustache and the mullet which he said.. “It’s honestly just me. The mullet started as a joke, but then I started to like it, especially with the mustache. It wasn’t planned, it just happened. Now it’s almost like my trademark. I guess I have to be like this forever!” and when I questioned him about his worst fashion moment he said “At the beginning of the year, they were picking most of my outfits for the walk to the track, and I remember looking like a schoolboy. The whole time I was walking from the car to the track, I kept thinking, ‘This is not me. This is not me. This is not me.’ It was just the complete opposite of my style. So I think we’ve learned from that now. I actually had a really cool outfit here on Thursday, with my cowboy hat and a denim jacket.”
What we learned from Bottas? Be true to yourself, your style and what you like, no matter if is funny , weird or random for other people.
Also ran into Jojo who was looking so chic, another fashion-style moment F1 should be proud about, she was minding her own business, have a good time she even got girl date with My friend Michelai to go hang Harlem where they both happen to live. She was very excited to running into PAPER,even asked me “did I met you last year at the PAPER party?” sad to tell her it wasn’t me me but excited to hang soon, she’s so fun!
As a recap I’d say F1 was a really cool experience, I got to connect with the Tejano music. I ate a lot of barbecue and as a surprise for myself some cool style. The fact that I was able to go into the garage where Checo Perez and Bottas teams were working all day was the cherry on top, learning about all the engineering behind a race was fascinating. To my surprise — remember, I knew absolutely nothing about F1 — drivers have to complete around 56 laps, which is crazy to me. I was already dizzy after trying the simulator in the garage!
